Student banned

A 16-year-old student has been placed on a daily curfew and ordered not to ride on minibus B142.

Magistrate Kristie Cuffy-Sargeant handed down the ruling against Jaheem Amani Watson, of Dunscombe, St Thomas, after he admitted to assaulting minibus conductor Jamal Gibson on December 6 and 7.

Even before the facts were read, Watson, in answering questions posed by the magistrate, reported that Gibson had thrown a bottle at him the day before and that he got angry.

However, the facts revealed that Gibson was working the Speightstown route around 2:40 p.m. on December 6 when Watson attempted to enter the bus at Trents, St James. The conductor refused to allow him entry on account of his behaviour.

However, when the bus arrived at Eagle Hall, St Michael that same afternoon, Watson disembarked from another vehicle, pushed open the door of B142 and hit Gibson over the left eye before running away and pelting rocks at the complainant. The matter was reported to the police.

But, according to the prosecutor, the assault of the conductor continued the following day while he was standing at a bus stop at Barbarees Hill, St Michael. This time Watson, along with other students, pelted rocks at Gibson.

Fearing for his safety, the conductor boarded a bus and reported the matter to police.

“That is a completely different story from what you said earlier,” the magistrate said to Watson, who, in giving his version of the story, said he was in the company of three girls, who were allowed to enter B142 but the conductor refused him entry saying, ‘you know we don’t pick up boys’.

However the magistrate, who was not amused, cut short his explanation.

“You need some help. You are telling a lot of lies. If you continue on this path you will end up in a place you will not like,” Cuffy-Sargeant told the teen, while warning him to conduct himself in a proper manner or face the consequences.

She then made a request for Gibson to appear in court on December 15 to give his side of the story.

In the meantime, Watson, who was granted $2,000 bail, has been placed on a 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew and must not ride of minibus B142.

Search in Archive

Select a MonthSelect a CategorySearch with Google

Barbados Today

Our mission is to keep you informed. Do you have news, know of an event or a personality deserving of coverage? Contact us today! Nothing or no one is too big or too small for us at Barbados Today to highlight. You can also take your own good quality photographs of community events and drop us a note with the details.